The invention relates generally to boats and, more particularly, to a boat hull design.
Traditional recreational boat hull designs are in the form of a V at the bow. They cut the water and divide the spray outward to the starboard and port sides of the boat. Transitioning from the bow to the boat's stern, however, the remainder of the hull resumes a more or less flat planar shape known as a “modified V.” When hulls with this design impact large waves, the boat is lifted by the wave and then impacts the flatter mid portion of the vessel causing a jarring rough ride. Another problem with traditional hull designs is drag.
The midsection of the hull presents substantial surface area that contacts the water. Vertical acceleration when attempting to plane the craft is not optimum as a result. Drag reduces fuel efficiency and performance as well. Drag can be reduced in designs like the catamaran, which uses spaced twin hulls. But, it's a trade off. It is difficult to steer catamarans, and their turn radius is too wide. Other design innovations, like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,337, take advantage of the characteristics of the twin keel at the bow. Deck support, however, is lacking in this three-point design.
Lack of support presents another problem to boating enthusiasts who desire more spacious decks on their boats. Most recreational boaters have trailerable-sized boats. Waters with large waves are not enjoyable for trailerable boats with large deck space, like a houseboat or pontoon. This places limitations on the utility of the size of boats that can be used in the Great Lakes, seas and coastal/intercoastal waters.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an improved boat hull for trailerable-sized boats. It would be advantageous if such a hull produced a smoother ride with less drag resulting in improved fuel economy and performance. Such a hull should be stable and supportive of a proportionately large deck area and have features that enable it to vertically accelerate on par with a traditional speedboat. The design should be capable of being readily incorporated into the hull construction without deviating from conventional forms of boat hull manufacture as well.